One of the world's top five biodiversity hotspots (Conservation International) the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil is in a critical state.

At the Iracambi Research Center they are working on the cutting edge of sustainable development. Their job is to find better ways of managing both forested and cleared land and work with the local community to figure out ways that both forests and people can flourish.

The four main areas are GIS and land management, forest restoration, environmental education and community outreach and the search for alternative income sources, focusing on the medicinal plants native to the forests.

27.
In the meeting, two important declarations were made by Government: firstly, that they will require the mining company to seek the approval of the State Park authorities for all mining undertakings within the Park buffer zone and, secondly, the Park Authority stated that it would not give such approval without the agreement of the State Park council, on which representatives of the local communities and other concerned bodies (including Iracambi). This is a major step forward in recognising the necessity of more serious discussion of the protection of the areas biodiversity . Outcomes of Legal Actions Using Mapped Evidence: